Our last day in St. Louis. We had so many positive conversations from Monday through Wednesday that we decided to add a special event to the Thursday afternoon calendar, a meeting with some of the students who showed an interest in starting a new ministry at Washington University. We made the decision on Wednesday night, before spending our 4th day on campus, so hopes were high, but even if we weren’t able to pull it off, the fact that we had enough response to try was a victory in and of itself.

Clearly, there is a hunger, a desire for something more that burns in the hearts of many of Wash U’s students.

In our final briefing, we took time to summarize our impressions of the week and personalize the experience by asking questions of ourselves.

What did we learn? What will we take home? How will we use this later? The responses were great to hear as students talked about the ways they were challenged, stretched and grown by their time on campus. Overcoming interpersonal conflicts, personal fears and physical limitations, they did everything they were asked without grumbling and complaining (at least, not complaining too much) and along the way laid the groundwork for a possible new campus ministry.